Typewriting machine



Aug. 31 1926.

J. A. B. SMITH TYPEWRITING MACHINE l Original Filed August 16. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 iatented ug. 31, 1926.

narran srarns JESSE 12MB. SMITH, 0F STAMFORD, CONNECTCUT, ,ASSIGNOR TO UNDERVJ'OOD TYPE- WRTER COMTEANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CGRPORATON OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed August 16, 1923, Serial No.` 657,670. Renewed October 6, 1924.

,by line. Carbon-carrying blades extend between the plies of web, these being mounted upon a carrier or holder which is shifted longitudinally of the web from time to time as the typing of each set of forms on the Y web is completed, to strip the carbons from the completed set of forms and interleave them. with the next set.

At the line-spacing operation, the platen revolves, and by means of the usual feedrolls advances the web, together with the carbons, and the carbon-holder or carrier, which is mounted to slide towards and away from the platen, as required, is drawn forward by the web and carbons. Owing to the weight of the web and to the weight of the carbon-carrier the web is `apt to slip with reference to the platen, causing the line feeding' to be fault-y, especially when the platen` is jerked around, as it often is, by reason of too speedy manipulation of the line-space lever, or by reason of the use of an electric motor to return the carriage and operate the line-feeding mechanism,

It has been proposed to prevent this faulty line feeding of the web, due to the inertia of the plies of the web and of the carboncarrier, by causing the carbon-carrier to occupy a normal position close to the platen, and the plies of web and carbon to form an upstanding loop between the carbon-carrier and the platen. The carbon-carrier, as a result of this arrangement, does not have to move at the line-spacing,` operations; and only a short reach of web, which is between the carbon-carrier and the platen, is pulled upon, and hence the inertia is insignificant and does not tend to make the line-spacing?,- uneven. T his loop of web is gradually taken up as the line-spacing proceeds, until. by the time the typing of a set of forms is completed theA loop is substantially all taken up.

For the purpose indicated above, provi'- sion is made in the machine of the present invention of means, preferably including a spring, for automatically returning the carbon-carrier to the forward limit of its movement as soon as it is released by the operative after having beenthrust to the rear to interleave the carbons with a fresh set of forms.

In order to secure the desired co-operation or the. web with the carbon-carrier, there is provided a clamp for clipping the web tothe carbon-carrier.A In accordance with an important feature of the present invention, this clamp is automatically controlled by the carbon-carrier operating means, being released by the actuation of the operating,` means to move the carbon-carrier to the rear, before any rearward movement of the carbon-carrier has takenv place, and being clamped by the initial movement of the operating means to restore the carbon-carrier toits normal forward position, before any forward movement of the carboncarrier has taken place. By this provision, it is assured that the carbon-carrier will be able to move freely to the rear with relation to the work-web in the usual manner for shifting the carbons to a fresh set of forms, but that movement of the carbon-carrier and the work-web in the forward movement of the carbon-carrier, which would tend to rumple the carbon-sheets and otherwise interfere with the desired operation, will be prevented.

The carbon-carrier yis usually provided with a handlev directly attached to it, which extends forwardly over the typewriter carriage to be reached by the operative. This handle is usually of great length, and when in its forward position extends over the keyboard, and therefore the objection arises that this handle would vbe in the way. if the carbon-carrier were in its forward position practically all the time, which is the case in carryingout the present invention.

To overcome this objection, there is provided anv operator for said carbon-carrier, in place of the usual handle, which comprises lazy-tongs or levers, or some other movable multiplying` and transposing device, connected to the typewriter carriage and to the carbon-carrier thereon. This operator includes a handle which standsupright toV the rear of the carriage when the carboncai'rier is in its normal position near the platen, so that it is not in the way, and which is swung' forward by the operator to move thc carbon-carrier to the rear.

The movement of the handleV may be Yvery much less than kthat of the carbon-carrierl due to the multiplying connections, so that it will he unnecessary for the hand of the operative to be moved an excessive distance in effecting the shifting of the carbons.

It is also a feature of this invention that the spring for returning the carbon-carrier to its normal forward position is connected to act upon'the carboncarrier through the multiplying connections of ,the operator;

" Th'ismakes itpossibieytoV use'a small strong spring 'fortthe' purpose, whichV moves Vthe showing theparts in the positions occupied at` thel completionof the typing of a yset of forms. K

Figure 3 is a and carriage extension, showing the carboncarrier at its rear limit oi' movement.

Figure 4 is a view similaito Figure 1, showing the 'platen'displaced and the carbon-carrierretracted. t Y l Figure l5 is a view similar to Figure 1,

yshowing' the parts in the positions occupied preparatory to tearing othe completed set of iorms.` L y i The invention 'is shown as applied Vto an Underwood continuous billing machine of i the kind disclosed in the abovementioned Yeo patent to l/ Vernery and Smith, in which type-bars 19 are operatedV by keys (not shown) to swing upwardlyand rearwardly to print ragainst the frontl of a-cylindrical platen 11. The platen 11 is mounted in a swing-frame 12 supported on a carriage V13 which comprises end bars 14 'connected to each other by a rear bar 15 anda front bar, not shown. letter .feed and return movements upon rails (not shown), said rails being supported on the main frame oithe machine;

The .platen is secured upon an yaxle 16 journaled in end plates 17 of the swing-frame and maybe line-fed by a line-space lever (not shown) through connections including gears 18 and 19 and a pinion 20, as is usual in machines of this kind. The machine also includes ahorizontali'rame 21 which forms a rear extension jof the carriage 13 and is connected to travel with the carriage. This :frame comprises rails 22 on which acarboncarrier 23 is mounted totravel toward and from the platen 11. A work-web 24 is led plan viewof the carriagek rThe carriage is mounted forV The carbon-carrier 23 is retracted by an operator comprising a handle 27 pivoted at 28 upon the carriage extension 21 and a laay tongs29, the operator handle 27 being airupwaiid extension of a link 30 at the forward', end 'y of `the lazy-tongs. The ylazyf tongi 29 is connectedrat its rear endk to the carbon-carrier '23 through a pin 31 of the lazy-tongs and an arcuate slot 32formed in a bracket 33 o-n the carbon-carrier 23, the

' slot permitting limited lost motion between the lazy-tongs andthe 'carbon-carrier' for a pui'nose which will beY pointed out 'herein` after., The lazy-tongs 29 is extended to the rear to retract the carbon-carrier 23 by swinging the handle 27 forward, ,and is collapsed yto draw the carbon-carrier forward by a tension spring 34 connected at its rear end to ya pin 35 on'the carriage extension 21 and at its front en d to the handle'27 to draw Vthe handle to the rear. Y Y n By the disclosed arrangement thecarbon- Carrier 23 is krcaused normally to occupy a position near ythe platen 11, and yet the operator handle 27 is caused normally to occupy vanupi'ight .position at the rear of the carriage 1,3 where it isout of theway. The movement of the operator handle 27 is shortas compared with the travel of the carbonecarrier 23 due to the multiplication e'llfectedby the lazy-tongs 29.

It is important to prevent shifting of the work-web 24 to the jrear relatively to the carbons 25 as the carbon-carrier 23 isdrawn forward, since this would rumple the carbons and otherwise interfere with the desired operation,y but it is necessary too that Athe woirk-webr'and carbons be free to move relatively during the rearward movement of the carbon-carrier. A clamp 36 is pivoted at 37 upon a bracket 38 on the carboncarrier 23 for clamping the workweb 24 andL carbons 25 against,relativemovement. This clamp 36 has a'downwardly-extending controlling arm 39 which is pivotally connected at its lower end to the pin 31 that connects the lazy-tongs 29 to the carbon carrier The slot 32 is curved about the pivot 37 Aof the clamp 36, sol that the pin 31, which is constrained to ymove in an arcrhaving's'aid'pivot 37 for its center, may travel along the slot 32 to open and close "the clamp.

Atthe beginning of typing aset of forms, the parts are in the positions indicated in Figure 1, the carbon-carrier 23 being held at the 'forward limit of its movement against'a fixed stop 40 onl the carriage extension `21, by the spring 34.' The clamp 36 is in effective position due to the fact that the pin 31 is drawn to the forward end of the slot 232 by the lazy-tongs 29. rEhe typing then proceeds until the first set of forms has been completely typed. 1f the typing runs to the bottom of the forms all of the slack will be taken out of the web by the successive line-spacing operations, as seen in Figure 2. The platen il is then displaced, the work-web 24 is drawn forward to a gage 41, and the carbon-carrier 23 is retracted by operation of the handle 27, as seen in Figure 4, to shift the carbons 25 into co-operative relation with the next set of forms on the web. The first result of the actuation of the handle fr' is to move the pin to the rear end of the slot 32 which swings the arm 39 to release the work-web 24 and carbons from the clamp 36. After this the continued movement of the handle 27 retracts the carbon-carrier 23. The platen 11 is then lowered to its normal position and the handle 27 is released by the operator. The spring 34 at once draws the hand-le 27 back to its normal upright position and this collapses the lazy-tongs Q9. rllhe collapsing` of the lazy-tongs 29 first moves the pin 3l to the forward end of the slot 32, closing the clamp 36 upon the work-web and carbons, and then moves the carbon-carrier 23 forwardl to its normal position, as seen in Figure 5, thereby creating sack in the web Q4 to be drawn upon in typingl the succeeding set of forms. The completed set of forms is then torn from the web by means of a tearing-off knife 42 and the typing of the next set of forms is begun. c

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the. invention, and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a continuous billing typewriting machine for yping upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a carbon-carrier movable upon the carriage extension toward and from the platen, means for keeping the carbon-carrier normally in a forward position near the platen to maintain slack in the work-web, a handle on the carriage for moving the carbon-car rier, and connections between the handle and carbon-carrier to cause movement of the handle to the front to move the carboncarrier to the rear and vice versa, so that the handle will be caused to occupy a rearward position where it will be out of the way when the carbon-carrier is in its normal forward position.

2. In a continuous billing typewriting machine for typing upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a

carbon-carrier on the rear carriage eXtension, means for moving the carbon-carrier toward and from the platen, comprising a handle on the carriage, connections between the handle and the carbonecarrier for causing the carbon-carrier to be moved to the rear by a forward movement of the handle, and a spring for swinging the handle to the rear to draw the carbon-carrier forward, said spring being effective to cause the carbon-carrier to occupy a normal forward position near the platen, and the handle to occupy a normal rearward position out of the way of the operator.

1n a continuous billing` typewritin-g machine for typing upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen thereon,l a clamp for clamping the work-web, a handle on said carriage, and means for moving the clamp forward toward the platen to create slack in the work-web as the handle is moved to the rear.

4.111 a continuous billing typewriting machine for typing upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a carbon-carrier movable toward and from the platen on the carriage extension, a handie on said carriage and movable toward the rear to move the carbon-carrier forward, and means for retaining the handle at the rear limit of its movement whereby the carbon-'carrier will be held at the forward limit of its movement to maintain slack in the work-web and thus prevent tension on the workw eb at the line-spacing operation.

5,. Ina continuous billing typewriting machine for typing upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a carbonecarrier vmovable toward and from the platen upon the rear carriage extension, a handle pivoted on the carriage extension and swingable forward to move thecarboncarrier to the rear away from the platen to interleave the carbons with a fresh stretch of web, and means automatically to swing the handle to the 'rear as soon as it is released by the operator.

6. 1n a continuous billing typewriting machinev for typing upon a multiple-ply continuous work-web, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier movable toward and from the platen for holding carbons interleaved with the plies of the work-web, a normally effective clamp for clamping the workaveb and carbons against relative movement, and means for moving the carbon-carrier to the rear to shift the carbons relatively to the work-web, said means being constructed automatically to unlock the clamp.

7.` ln a continuous billing typewriting machine for typing upon a multiple-ply continuous work-web, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier movable toward and from the handle for making` the clamp effective as an incident o'f tlieoperation ot' the handle for moving;` the carbon-carrier forward buty prior to such movement of the carbon-car` rier and for makingthe clampA ineffective as an incident of the operation of thehandle foi* moving the carbon-carrier rearward but prior to such movement of the carbon-carrier. v

8. ln a continuous billing typewriting machine for typing` upon a multiple-ply continuous ivork-web, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier movable toward and from the platen for holding carbons interleaved with the plies of the work-web, a handle for moving,` the carbon-carrier to the rear to interleave the carbons with a fresh stretch of the work-web and for movingtlie carbon-carrier forward to create slack in the web andr the carbons, a. clamp for clamping the workweb and the carbons against relative move ment, and means automatically Ycontrolled by the handle for causingtheclamp tojbe inetfective during rearward Amovement of. the

carbon-carrier and to be effective at all other times. L

9. In a typewriting; machine, a cylindrical platen, a clamp, and means for moving the clamp toward and from the platen, said means being constructed and arranged; automatically to open the clamp just prior to its movement away from the platen and to maintain it open throughout said movement and automatically to c-lose the clamp justV prior to its movement toward the platen and to maintain it closed throughout said movement to createslack in the work-web, i

10Q ln a continuous billing; typewritingV machine for typing upon a multiple-ply continuous work-web, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier movable toward and vfrom the platen, a clamp pivoted on the carbon-carrier to clamp the work-web andecarbons against relative movement, an operator vfor said carbon-carrier comprising'a pin received in a slot of the cai,rier,said pin being also connected to the clamp and being` so arranged that when moved to the'rear it. will first 'swing the clamp'to open position and then move the carbon-carrier to the rear away from the platen to shift the workweb relatively to the carbons and when ioved to the front it will first swing the clamp to closed positionand then move the carbon-carrier to the front toward the platen to create slack in the work-web and carbone. n 11.111 `a continuous billing typewrting machine, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier movable toward and from the platen, an operator for the carbon-carrier, 'lost-motion connections between the operator and the carbon-carrier, and a clamp actuated by relative move-ment ofthe operator 'and carbon-carrier to move to an open position in the initialmovement of the operator to move the carbon-carrier away'from the platen and to moveto closed position in the initial movement of the operator to 'move the carbon-carrier Vtoward `the platen.V

l2. In a vcontinuous billing typewriting machine, a cylindrical platen, a carbon-carrier novable toward and from the platen, a clamp pivoted on 'the carbon-carrier v for lioldingthe work-web and carbons against relative movement, a pin on the clamp, the

carbon-carrier havingan arcuate slot curved` about the pivot of the clamp as a center in which the pin travels, and an operator for the carbon-carrier connected to said pin, the arrangement beingsuch that upon actuation of the'opei'ator to move the carbon-carrier away from the platen the pin first moves yto the rear end ofthe arcuate'slot opening the clamp and Ythen thrusts the carbon-carrier to the rear, and upon actuation of the parat-or Ato niove the carbon-carrier toward the platen thepin first moves to the forward clamp' will lbe maintained'in the forward position of the carbon-carrier. y'

14. In a continuous billing,- typewritng machine, a carriage, Va cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension,

a carbon-carrier mounted for movement on the carriage extension toward and from the platen, and an operator for the carbon-carrier comprising a handle on said carriage and multiplying Yconnections between the handle and the carbon-'carrier whereby the carbon-carrier may be lretracted by a relatively short stroke of the handle..

7.15. In a continuous billing typewritingj machine, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, arearcarriage extension,

a carbon-carrier mounted for movement on the carriage extension toward and from the platen, a handle on said carriage for movlll() ing the carbon-carrier, and connections between the handle and the carbon-carrier constructed and arranged to cause a movement of the handle in one direction to eiiect a greater movement of the carbon-carrier in the opposite direction.

16. ln a continuous billing typewriting machine, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a carbon-carrier mounted for right-line movement on the carriage extension toward and from the platen, and an operator 'for the carbon-carrier comprising a pivoted handle and a lazy-tongs connection between the handle and the carbon-carrier to retract the carbon-carrier a greater distance than the handle is moved.

17. ln a continuous billing typewriting machine, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a carbon-carrier mounted for movement toward and from the platen, and a carbon-carrier operating means comprising a lazytongs, a handle for expanding the lazy-tongs to move the carbon-carrier away from the platen and a spring for collapsing the lazy-tongs to move the carbon-carrier toward the platen.

1S. In a continuous billing typewriting machine, a cylindrical platen, a rear carriage extension, a carbon-carrier mounted Ylor movement on the carriage extension toward and from the platen, a handle on sai f1 carriage for moving the carbon-carrier away from the platen, multiplying connections between the handle and the carbon-carrier for causing a long movement of the carboncarrier to be elected by a relatively short movement of the handle, and a spring for moving the carbon-carrier toward the platen, the said spring being connected to the handle to act on the carbon-carrier through the multiplying connections so that the desired movement of the carbon-carrier may be effected by a very short movement of the spring.

19. In a continuous billing typewriting machine, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a carbon-carrier mounted :tor movement toward and from the platen, and carbon-carrier operating means comprising a lazy-tongs, a handle swingable in one direction to expand the lazy-tongs to move the carbon-carrier away from the platen, and a spring for collapsing the lazytongs to move the carbon-carrier toward the platen, the said spring being connected to act upon the handle near its pivot so that a small spring may be used to move the carbon-carrier the desired distance.

20.. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a carriage, a revoluble platen. and a carbon-carrier mounted at the rear thereoil for movement bodily towards and from the platen, of a handle at the front of the carriage` a support on said carriage on which said handle is mounted, and a movement-multiplying device between said handle and said carbon-carrier.

21. ln a continuous billing typewriting machine for typing upon a continuous workweb, a carriage, a cylindrical platen journaled therein, a rear carriage extension, a carbon-carrier on the rear carriage extension, means for moving the carbon-carrier toward and from the platen, comprising a handle, connections between the handle and the carbon-carrier, and a spring for swinging the handle to the rear to draw the carbon-carrier forward, said spring being efective to cause the carbon-carrier to occupy a normal forward position near the platen, and the handle to occupy a normal rearward position out of the way of the operator.

JESSE A. B. SMITH. 

